Molly Melican who works under the name of Ginklet, is a young emerging artist, working and living in the beautiful seaside city of Warrnambool, Victoria. Molly has always been attracted to the unusual and weird, often making sculptural pieces that reflect this affinity. Her ceramics can elicit a sense of child-like curiosity; with every character she creates having its own quirky characteristics and personality brought to life. Molly has always desired to encapsulate a sense of fun and humour in her works. She believes that art should not only provide beauty and fascination, but also a sense of relief and playfulness in one’s life.
Can you tell us a little about your collaboration with Liam Murphy?
Back in March, a message popped up on my phone from Liam while I was sitting in my studio. I had to read the message twice, just to be sure what I read was correct. I was so over the moon that he had invited me to collaborate with him that I hurriedly pushed aside the sculpture I’d been working on and began the first piece for the collab right away (which was Fiona). The idea was for me to create pieces which were all adorned with ‘hoods’, and Liam could glaze the hood in his style, leaving the face of the character free for me to glaze. Every month or so, I would drop pieces to Liam, or he would come by and pick them up to glaze. While he was glazing a batch, I’d fire the batch he had dropped to me and so on. It was such a breeze working with Liam on this.
What drew you to ceramics?
I have always loved drawing fun and sometimes strange looking characters. I’ve always challenged myself to create characters that are unusual looking but still somehow charming and beautiful in their own way. I was drawn to ceramics because these characters could be brought even further to life in this medium. They were finally pulled out of the page and became 3D beings that I could hold in my hands. Ceramics is also attractive to me because it’s such a dynamic medium. It can be functional or strictly an object of beauty, with no other purpose but to make you smile.
What does your artistic process entail?
Hand building my piece is the first step. I build up the shape of the piece using the coil method and then add the desired features. I slow dry my work, as to prevent cracking. This process takes around 2 weeks. I then bisque fire the piece, which is a temperature of around 1000c in the kiln. This removes any moisture and chemicals from the clay, priming it for glazing. I then paint my pieces with underglaze and a coat of clear gloss glaze over this to ensure the piece is nice and glossy. Finally, it enters a final firing of about 1100c. Both firings take around 7-9 hours.
What inspires your work?
I have always been deeply inspired by art which brings I smile to my face and gives a sense of relief. I have always endeavoured to spark joy in people when they view my characters, and believe that art should not only be something beautiful and attractive, but also something curious and fun. Liam’s bright, infectious colour palette on each piece complimented this ideal perfectly.
How has your artistic practice evolved over time?
What began as a hobby has quickly turned into the biggest and brightest part of my life. My artistic practice has largely stayed the same as it was in Ginklet’s inception back in late 2018. Perhaps what has evolved the most has been the very purpose of creating my art. What was once simply something that made my heart sing has now also became a small business, which has just been a big cherry on top. This evolution of Ginklet has been so new and exciting for me, and I feel very grateful.
Discover 'Righto' by Liam Murphy x Ginklet here.
